[.ca] Every Man A Tiger (ISBN 0425219135)

From Amazon.com:
This Tom Clancy real-life military thriller is more nuanced than his novels, because its object is not simply to dramatize armed conflict but to relate the life lessons of his source, jet-pilot-turned-Desert-Storm-air-commander General Chuck Horner. Horner is no war cheerleader like General "Buck" Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove. He loathes the arrogance of the backwards, nuke-happy Strategic Air Command and the madly out-of-touch Vietnam War planner Robert McNamara. McNamara confesses his folly in two books, Argument Without End and In Retrospect, but Horner's you-are-there account more vividly demonstrates Vietnam's grim lessons. He flew an F-105 Thunderbird "Thud" fighter in the Wild Weasels, the unit with the highest medals-per-aircrew ratio, knew pilots who were stoned to death by villagers, and realized all the bombing did zero good. "All we really had to do was befriend Ho," says Horner sensibly. "Seems he wasn't part of a monolithic Communist plot, and hated the Chinese more than anything else." Horner is savvy about the screwups, the achievements, and the political maneuvering in and after the Gulf War, as leaders and branches of service battled for PR victories. His idea of a hero is Boomer McBroom's pilot Captain Gentner Drummond, who won a Flying Cross medal for refusing AWACS orders to down a jet that turned out to be a Saudi ally. Horner thinks the interservice and international cooperation in the Gulf War was way better than in Vietnam, but there's ample room for improvement. The action scenes aren't quite as brilliant as those in Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, but Clancy fans will find plenty to admire. Horner's improbable survival of a 150-m.p.h. near-crash in Libya in 1962 belongs in a Tom Clancy film. --Tim Appelo

Very Interesting Look at the War:
Clancy really did a good job with this book. I have also read the first book in this new series he is putting out "Into the Storm - A Study in Command" and I have to say that this book is much better. One would think that as it is the second book, maybe he learned how to put together a non-fiction story in a more readable and interesting way or maybe the co-author was just a better writer. Clancy has teamed up with the General that was in charge of the air war in the Gulf War, and has a done himself a favor getting someone as inteligent and engaging to work with. The book is basically three parts, the first section talks about the Generals career in the Air Force, the Air Force development from Viet Nam to the Gulf War and a touch of the politics involved within the different military branches. The second section of the book deals with the build up to the air war. The final section deals with the air war both the stand-alone part and as a joint effort with the ground war. The author does not give you an action packed, inside the cockpit type of story. What we do get is the process for building up the forces, developing a plan, working with the other countries and military forces and finally the execution of the plan. I found the discussions of target selection and the relationship between the air and ground element to be the most interesting. Overall this is a well-written and constructed book. It has a lot of value if you are interested in the Gulf War or just how current U.S. battles are planned and fought. From watching the nightly news you can see that many of the same processes and tactics discussed in this book were used with the current U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan

Slapping Yourself on the Back:
Clancy has made a minor industry out of telling the military about itself in the most glowing terms. In this book he does it again, but at least in the title he's honest and up front about it. If this "we love ourselves" fest got any less critical we'd be putting Horner in for pontification. If you're not interested in reading the whole unvarnished anything, read this book.

One way of crushing Saddam Hoekie:
Well first of all its a big book ...so you'll have a lot of reading to do ... its interesting and some what exciting If you want to know a bit more about the AIR OPS during Desert storm you'd buy this one .

Excellent:
This is on the U.S Air Force's list of recommended reading for a reaon. If you have an interest in what the USAF is and how it does what it does, this book is a must.

Air Warrior in the Persian Gulf!!:
Mr. Clancy, once again, authors a "must read" about one of America's greatest military commanders. In this book, Clancy collaborates with retired Air Force General Chuck Horner for an "inside look" at U.S./Allied air operations in the Persian Gulf War. As a result of the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, during the Gulf War, General Horner was entrusted with new military authorities. The "Turf Warfare" between the American armed services that took place during the Vietnam War was no longer existant, and given military objectives with strings from the political leaders withdrawn, the General was charged with directing ALL American and Allied air assests during the DESERT SHIELD-turn-DESERT STORM period. This in an up-close look at General Horner, his indoctrination, development, and ultimate leadership in the arena of American Airpower. "Every Man A Tiger" tells the story of General Horner's relationships with the other military and political leaders, and how his heretofore career enabled him to be effective in the Middle East. As a combat fighter pilot, Chuck Horner learned the lessons of Vietnam, and helped re-structure the United States Air Force that was ill-prepared for that conflict because of the preponderance of the Strategic Air Command. For the person seeking to increase their knowledge of American Air Superiority and Aerospace history, Horner's story is "not to be missed." I would highly recommend this book for any individual interested in General History, Military History or Biography, or any other individual interested in this pinnacle point in American history and the United Nations.